On the design of electrospray emitters and their microfluidic behavior

Propellant transport to the emission site of electrospray thrusters determines the operational regime of the propulsion unit. The focus of this research is on electrospray emitters composed of a porous substrate through which the fuel is passively fed. The hydraulic impedance of the propellant from the fuel reserves to the emission site is critical in the determination of the emission characteristics of the thruster. An impedance value of <1.5 x 10¹⁷ kgm⁻⁴s⁻¹ or higher is required to achieve pure ionic emission. A gap in the literature exists in for the analysis of high-fidelity modeling of the total hydraulic impedance of emitters. Estimates of the internal and external wetting characteristics are combined to approximate the total hydraulic impedance through the porous lattice of borosilicate glass, carbon aerogel, Varapor100, and fused silica emitters.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Kristinsson, Bjarni Örn.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paulo C. Lozano.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng